(Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during the Global Alcohol Policy Symposium in Istanbul April 26, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer )

If you are looking for one sure way to split public opinion in Turkey, just bring up the word alcohol.

Last month, a senior EU parliamentarian, Pino Arlacchi, said a staggering 70-80 percent of the $34 billion in  aid earmarked for Afghanistan since 2002 never reached the Afghan  people due to corruption, waste and donors witholding funds.

Although Arlacchi’s figures were only an estimate based on a visit to Afghanistan in March and while few would dispute the fact billions of dollars in aid have been wasted over the last eight years, the numbers can also be somewhat misleading.